Grant_Erickson
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The Gophers took the lead in the first period but can’t fend off the No. 1 Mavericks as Minnesota State knocked off Minnesota, 4-2, to advance to the NSCC Championship against Bemidji.
Frustrating Streak
In what seemed like a must-win for the Gophers, the fire just wasn’t there. It felt like every shift there was a missed pass or a lost race to the puck. The players are starting to notice what many fans have seen for much of the year.
“Once again, it’s the same old mistakes for us,” said Travis Boyd. “We’re giving up goals the same way, we’re making the same mistakes over and over again. Eventually, we’ve got to learn from it or it’s going to be the same thing every weekend.”
I honestly thought we’d see the Gophers come out just flying tonight to try and take down the nation’s top team. Instead, Minnesota looked stagnant and has now won just two of their last seven games.
“We’re in a skid here, for sure,” said Brady Skjei. “We’re not playing the hockey that we need to be playing.”
The road doesn’t get any easy as the Gophers will face Minnesota Duluth tomorrow afternoon, a team that swept Minnesota back in November. Although the Bulldogs looked pretty lackluster in the portion of the game that I watched, a win tomorrow could give the Gophers some postseason hope.
“It’s an even bigger game tomorrow than it was today,” said Skjei. “We really need a win and get back on track here.”
Sluggish Start
Minnesota looked flat from the drop of the puck. I thought the super defensive pairing of Skjei and Mike Reilly would be dominant but their group got cooped up in the zone for an extended period to start the game. Nothing seemed fluid for Minnesota as they struggled to generate offense.
“Our puck support wasn’t real good tonight,” said Don Lucia. “There were too many times when we had the puck and the player was left on an island.”
Despite the rough start, Minnesota took the lead at 17:54 of the first. Just trying to make it to the break, the Gophers again were held in their own zone before MSU put one by Wilcox.
“Right after we scored that we said, “let’s bear down and get through the period,’” said Boyd. “It was a big momentum swing. You never want to give up a goal late in the period.”
The Mavericks would take the late-period momentum into the second where they would tally three goals, more than enough to sink the Gophers.
Bizarre Scene
Late in the third, the Gophers were on the powerplay with Adam Wilcox pulled when an MSU player was injured blocking a shot and couldn’t get off the ice. With Minnesota essentially on a 6-on-3, Maverick goalie, Stephon Williams, threw the net off, drawing a penalty. Because of the situation, the Gophers had the option to take a powerplay or a penalty shot. With just 1:13 left and down by two, Lucia picked Seth Ambroz to shoot the penalty shot, which he missed. It was one of the oddest things I’ve seen at the end of the game, and something Lucia said he’d never witnessed.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t plan for that stuff,” said MSU head coach, Mike Hastings. “It made for some good drama. You just don’t see that very often. Penalty shots are feast or famine so I’m glad it went our way.”
By the Numbers
22 Shots for each team in the disjointed and choppy game.
2 Two points, a goal and an assist, for MSU defenseman, Jon Jutzi, who came into the game with just two points on the year.
100 Percent of the teams in the NSCC are from the WCHA. Not something I would have expected in 2015.
Three Stars of the Game
#3 Matt Leitner tallied two assists.
#2 Jon Jutzi doubled his season point total with a goal and a helper.
#1 Bryce Gervais led all skaters with three points (two goals) and six shots.
What’s Next
The Gophers will take on UMD tomorrow at 4:00 CT from St. Paul.
Frustrating Streak
In what seemed like a must-win for the Gophers, the fire just wasn’t there. It felt like every shift there was a missed pass or a lost race to the puck. The players are starting to notice what many fans have seen for much of the year.
“Once again, it’s the same old mistakes for us,” said Travis Boyd. “We’re giving up goals the same way, we’re making the same mistakes over and over again. Eventually, we’ve got to learn from it or it’s going to be the same thing every weekend.”
I honestly thought we’d see the Gophers come out just flying tonight to try and take down the nation’s top team. Instead, Minnesota looked stagnant and has now won just two of their last seven games.
“We’re in a skid here, for sure,” said Brady Skjei. “We’re not playing the hockey that we need to be playing.”
The road doesn’t get any easy as the Gophers will face Minnesota Duluth tomorrow afternoon, a team that swept Minnesota back in November. Although the Bulldogs looked pretty lackluster in the portion of the game that I watched, a win tomorrow could give the Gophers some postseason hope.
“It’s an even bigger game tomorrow than it was today,” said Skjei. “We really need a win and get back on track here.”
Sluggish Start
Minnesota looked flat from the drop of the puck. I thought the super defensive pairing of Skjei and Mike Reilly would be dominant but their group got cooped up in the zone for an extended period to start the game. Nothing seemed fluid for Minnesota as they struggled to generate offense.
“Our puck support wasn’t real good tonight,” said Don Lucia. “There were too many times when we had the puck and the player was left on an island.”
Despite the rough start, Minnesota took the lead at 17:54 of the first. Just trying to make it to the break, the Gophers again were held in their own zone before MSU put one by Wilcox.
“Right after we scored that we said, “let’s bear down and get through the period,’” said Boyd. “It was a big momentum swing. You never want to give up a goal late in the period.”
The Mavericks would take the late-period momentum into the second where they would tally three goals, more than enough to sink the Gophers.
Bizarre Scene
Late in the third, the Gophers were on the powerplay with Adam Wilcox pulled when an MSU player was injured blocking a shot and couldn’t get off the ice. With Minnesota essentially on a 6-on-3, Maverick goalie, Stephon Williams, threw the net off, drawing a penalty. Because of the situation, the Gophers had the option to take a powerplay or a penalty shot. With just 1:13 left and down by two, Lucia picked Seth Ambroz to shoot the penalty shot, which he missed. It was one of the oddest things I’ve seen at the end of the game, and something Lucia said he’d never witnessed.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t plan for that stuff,” said MSU head coach, Mike Hastings. “It made for some good drama. You just don’t see that very often. Penalty shots are feast or famine so I’m glad it went our way.”
By the Numbers
22 Shots for each team in the disjointed and choppy game.
2 Two points, a goal and an assist, for MSU defenseman, Jon Jutzi, who came into the game with just two points on the year.
100 Percent of the teams in the NSCC are from the WCHA. Not something I would have expected in 2015.
Three Stars of the Game
#3 Matt Leitner tallied two assists.
#2 Jon Jutzi doubled his season point total with a goal and a helper.
#1 Bryce Gervais led all skaters with three points (two goals) and six shots.
What’s Next
The Gophers will take on UMD tomorrow at 4:00 CT from St. Paul.
